30 Minute Walking Workout

Don’t you just love the sore feeling you get after a good workout? It’s a constant reminder that you worked your muscles hard. No pain no gain, right? Lately I’ve been doing workouts from the LiveFit 12 Week Trainer and that sore feeling seems to be a regular occurrence.

Isaac and I completed Phase 1 of the program together and it went really well. For the first time I was able to get Isaac excited about going to the gym and working out with me. It was fun! But now, instead of moving on to Phase 2 with Isaac I’ve decided I’m going to try out some the workouts from Phase 3.

The main reason I’ve decided to do this is because Phase 3 is about getting lean and incorporates cardio into the training so that you’re torching calories while preserving as much muscle as possible. The other reason is because I want to do other workouts throughout the week like yoga, running, Core Barre classes, etc. So rather than following the program exactly, I’m going to incorporate the Phase 3 workouts in a few times a week and do other workouts as well.

On Saturday I did the Day 58- Back, Biceps and Triceps workout and although it was a bit long (over 1.5 hours), it was a great workout and I’ve been quite sore all weekend – especially my arms and abs. I followed the weight training portion of the workout, but instead of doing running sprints, I decided to switch things up with 30 minutes of walking on the treadmill (I had a magazine I wanted to read and it’s much easier for me to walk and read). But, don’t let the word “walk” fool you, this interval workout still had my heart pumping. According to my heart rate monitor, I burned about 290 calories.

So if you’re in need of some sweaty cardio, give this 30 minute workout a try.

Ready? Set? Go!

Throughout the workout you’ll be steadily increasing the incline as you go from the walking speed to power-walking (sprints) every 30 seconds (i.e. For the first 5 minutes you’ll be at a 1% incline and every 30 seconds you’ll switch from the walking speed (say 4.0 MPH) to the sprinting speed (4.5).

I know what you mean about some programs not being challenging enough in the beginning. Jamie recommends that everyone start with Phase 1 and move through the program but you can certainly break the rules if you wish. I’m doing it by skipping Phase 2.

One thing you could do is try the first week of Phase 1 and if it seems too easy skip to Phase 2.

Phase 3 workouts are killer! I have decided to go back to Phase 1 because I am still recovering from a running injury and my body just wasn’t handling the sprints well. I figured with moving it would provide the perfect opportunity to get a fresh start since I just moved over the weekend!

I’m on the last week of Phase 1 of Jamie Eason’s LiveFit Trainer and I like it so far! I will admit I’ve been adding in a few extra exercises here or there when I don’t feel like I worked a muscle group hard enough but overall it’s a pretty comprehensive strengthening program. I agree with really enjoying it when I feel sore after a workout – it’s like that song from the 1980’s “Hurts SO GOOD, Come on baby make it hurt so good!” Lol! At least, that’s what I always think to myself the next day

I wish I had the patience to do a workout like this. If the treadmill has a program built in I will use it, but if I have to change it manually I find myself not sticking with the program. Especially when I am on a treadmill I like to space out or get lost in my thoughts. That is just not compatible with interval workouts.